Calling All Girls #12

Oveta Culp Hobby's path from an ambitious young girl reading legislative records in her father's law office to becoming Director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps unfolds through a lifetime of determination and service. From her groundbreaking role as the first woman parliamentarian in the Texas legislature to her leadership in newspaper and radio, Hobby's career demonstrates the expanding opportunities—and responsibilities—for women in American civic life. When the nation calls in 1942, she answers by organizing the WAAC, positioning women to serve their country in noncombatant roles and freeing men for combat.

Judy Wing surprises her mother with a cross-country flight home for her birthday, but when a desperately ill local boy needs emergency transport to the hospital, Judy's piloting skills become a lifeline. Racing against the clock in her borrowed plane, she works to get young Arthur to safety before it's too late.

When her father, the King's Smith in the Tower of London, dies during the Hundred Years' War, Katherine Faber steps into his role—partnering with her late father's apprentice Andrew to keep the royal forge running while the men march to battle. As Katherine draws on her deep knowledge of armor repair and weaponry to serve the Crown, she discovers that the work of keeping a kingdom armed is just as vital as the fighting itself. This true story celebrates a woman who refused to let her family's essential trade fall silent when duty called.

The Yorktown Younger Set turns Halloween into a friendly competition when they organize a salvage sortie—a scrap metal and rubber collection contest between homerooms, with the winning team's rivals footing the refreshment bill. When one team spots an old Model T roadster in the lake and hatches a clever plan to throw their competitors off the trail, things quickly spiral from playful rivalry into a wild night of misunderstandings, police involvement, and a frantic race against the clock. With the bonfire deadline just minutes away, the kids have to scramble to prove their innocence and salvage their victory.

A young woman who once feared the water transforms into a skilled sailor during wartime, and when Pearl Harbor is attacked, she volunteers her boat to carry vital supplies across sub-infested seas to a remote Hawaiian settlement. When a harrowing voyage nearly costs her everything—engine failure, broken pumps, and a raging storm threatening to sink her vessel—Judy Hall must rely on her seamanship and sheer determination to bring her cargo and herself safely to shore. This true account captures an ordinary person performing extraordinary service when her country needed her most.